Flame arrester



May 13,1941, P, c. uns l 2,420,599

FLAME ARRESTER Filed Feb. 4, 1944 IN VEN TOR. Pfff@ c. Jz/e Patented May13, 1947 FLAME ARRESTER Peter C. Jurs, Piedmont, Calif.,

assigner to Shand and Jurs Company, a partnership Application February4, 1944, Serial No. 521,051

3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to flame arresting devices such as areemployed where highly inflammable vapors or liquids are being handled.

Flame arresting devices of the type to which this invention relates areshown for example in Brooks 1,681,698 and are widely used in thepetroleum and gas industries for minimizing lire and explosion hazards.They consist of a hous ing having means for making connection with astorage tank or piping, and a cooling element or tube bank interposedbetween the inlet and outlet passages of the housing. When in service itis customary to frequently remove the tube bank for cleaning, inspectionor possible replacement.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved llame arresterin lwhich the tube bank may be readily removed and replaced Withoutdisturbing connections to the piping system.

Another object of the invention is to provide a name arrester unithaving a simpliiied :body or housing construction, with a part of thehousing being attached to and removable with the tube bank.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved flamearrester having provision for jacking apart sections of the bod?, whichare normally clamped together.

Further objects ofthe invention will be apparent from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiment of the same and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawings- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view incross-section, illustrating a flame arrester incorporating the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view, partly in cross-section, illustratinga iiame arrester incorporating the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a View of a part of the clamping mechanism taken along theline 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a hollow body or housingcomposed generally of bell-shaped body sections it and Il. Thesesections are provided with similar flanges I2 and I3 or equivalent meansfor making connection with the associated piping. Inner enlarged ends ofthe body sections are provided with flanges ill and l5 which are inparallel spaced planes perpendicular to the central axis of the body.

Between body sections lll and I! there is a flame arrester unit l5 whichconsists of a cooling element in the form of a tube bank Il surroundedby a rigid annular shell I3. Tube bank Il can consist of alternatinglayers of flat and lil) corrugated metal strips I9 and 2li Iwound abouta central pin or Core 2l, as shown in Brooks 1,681,698. The exterior ofthe shell can be provided with a plurality of cooling iins 22 to aidheat dissipation. A handle 23 is mounted on one side of the shell formanual manipulation. Shell i8 and tube bank il' are fastened together toform a single unit by means of a bolt 26 which passes through shell h3,tube bank l? and core 2l.

The opposed faces of iianges lll and i5 are provided with machined padsor lands 25 which facilitateinsertion and removal of the shell i8 frombetween the annular machined faces 26 and 21 of flanges lll and i5.

In order to releasably clamp the body sections lil and li upon oppositesides of the shell, the flanges il and l5 are provided with registeringholes to receive bolts 28. These bolts have a loose t in ange lli butare tapped or threaded into flange l5. Bolts 2S may be turned by use ofa wrench applied to heads 23 or by use of a rod passed through holes 3G;

In addition to means for clamping the two body parts together, I providemeans whereby thel7 can'be jackedV apart to loosen them from the shellit; Thus collars fil are shown attached to the bolts 28 and thesecollars are positioned as shown in Fig. l, in spaced proximity to theflange lli. The collars are preferably so dimensioned that they are inclose proximity with the adjacent peripheral surface of shell IB andthus serve to properly align the unit it with respect to sections andll.

In addition to the flange openings and bolts previously mentioned Iprovide corresponding cooperating slots 32 and 33 in flanges lli and l5respectively. These slots are adapted to accommodate bolts 34 which inturn are adapted to swing about pivoted connections 35 between the websor ribs on. body ll. Nuts 3l engage bolts 34 and when tightened serve toclamp the anges I4 and l5 together. Bolts 34 are likewise provided withcollars Se which are in proximity with the adjacent side portions ofshell I3 to align or center the same.

Operation of the above device can briefly be described as follows:Assuming that the body sections Il' and l! are suitably connected toassociated piping and that one desires to remove the llame arrestingunit l@ from its normal position between sections lll and il, nuts 3land bolts 23 are loosened whereby body sections lil and l I are likewiseloosened with respect to each other. Bolts 3d are swung out of the wayand flame arresting unit It is removed laterally from be- 3 tweensections l!) and Il, by grasping the handle 23. In the event sections I3and II tend to adhere to the ends of shell I8, continuous rotation ofbolts 28 will force collars 3| against flange I4 thereby positivelyjacking sections I0 and II apart.

When replacing flame arresting unit IG the shell I8 is first insertedbetween pads 25 and then the unit is thrust laterally to its properaligned position. Bolts 34 are next swung into position as shown in Fig.3, whereupon nuts 31 and bolts 28 are tightened thereby clamping bodiesIII and I I against the shell I8 to form a seal. In normal positionshell I8 in eifect forms a part of the body and resists inner pressurein the same manner as the walls of the body sections ICI and I I.

I claim:

1. In a :llame arresting device of the character described, a pair ofhollow body sections adapted to be connected with piping, a namearresting unit adapted to be interposed between the body sections andcomprising a flame arresting core surrounded by a rigid shell, flangesformed on the ends of the body sections adjacent the ends of the shell,a plurality of bolts engaging said anges and serving to draw the bodysections into clamping engagement with the ends of the shell, the boltson one side of the device being pivotally at- Jcached to one of saidflanges and engaging in slots in the other flange whereby such bolts canbe swung to an out-of-the-way position to facilitate removal andintroduction of the llame arresting unit, the bolts on the diametricallyopposite side of the device having non-pivotal engagement with saidflanges, and collars mounted upon said last mentioned bolts and locatedadjacent one of said flanges, said collars serving to apply forcetending to separate the body sections from engagement with the shellwhen the bolts mounting said collars are turned in one direction, saidcollars being dirnensioned to engage the peripheral surface of the shellso that the flame arresting unit is generally centralized with respectto the central axis of the body sections.

2. In a flame arresting device of the character described, a pair ofhollow body sections adapted to be connected with piping, a amearresting unit adapted to be interposed between the body sections andcomprising a naine arresting core surrounded by a rigid shell, flangesformed on the ends of the body sections adjacent the ends of the shell,and a plurality of circumferentially spaced bolts engaging said flangesand serving to draw the body sections into clamping engagement with theends of the shell, the bolts of one side of the device being pivotallyattached to one of said flanges and engaging in slots in the other ange,whereby such bolts can be swung to an out-of-the-way position tofacilitate removal and introduction of the ame arresting unit, the boltson the diametrically opposite side of the device having non-pivotalengagement with the flanges.

3. In a llame arresting device of the character described, a pair ofhollow body sections adapted to be connected with piping, a flamearresting unit adapted to be interposed :between the body sections andcomprising a arne arresting core surrounded by a rigid shell, flangesformed on the ends of the body sections adjacent the ends of the shell,a plurality of circumferentially spaced bolts engaging said flanges andserving to draw the body sections into clamping enga-gement with theends of the shell, the bolts on one side of the device being pivotallyattached to one of said anges and engaging in slots in the other flange,whereby such bolts can be swung to an out-of-the-way position tofacilitate removal and introduction of the flame arresting unit, thebolts on the diametrically opposite side of the device havingnon-pivotal engagement with the anges, and jacking means mounted uponthe non-pivotally engaged bolts and serving to apply force to jack thebody sections apart with respect to the shell.

PETER C. JURS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,783,701 Cooke et al Dec. 2,1930 2,252,337 Worthen Aug. 12, 1941 1,262,317 Finney et a1. Apr. 9,1918 1,631,264 Haldeman June 7, 1927 2,271,138 Hamer Jan. 27, 1942556,058 Huey Mar, 10, 1896 2,274,319 Chesterman Feb. 24, 1942 1,701,805Dunn et al. Feb. 12, 1929 504,739 Murray Sept. 12, 1893 1,056,466 SolemMar. 18, 1913

